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Family  Plicatulidae

Plicate Oysters

This is a family of only about 20 species (Huber, 2010). Species occur in tropical and temperate waters, but never commonly. Shells attach to the substrate, which may be rock, coral or only a shell fragment, by the right valve. Attachment may be by the entire valve, or only a small portion of it around the umbo. Shell outline may be subcircular, elongate or trigonal, with the overall shell shape controlled by the shape of the substrate.

Family Reference

Huber’s Compendium of Bivalves provides illustrations of the species worldwide, but it does not address the Australian species or their distribution or synonymy.

Coverage

The single species known from NSW is illustrated here.

Identification Notes

The V-shaped hinge teeth place shells in this family. The teeth on the left valve form a large V, into while the smaller V of the right valve fits tightly.